Dragon Fire
by Enderstar
Summary: Sherlock always knew he was a dragon, the most hunted species on Earth, and always kept it a secret, until he met John Watson. Together the two will have to delve deeper into the secrets of the Government to keep Sherlock alive but when a terrible truth is revealed will John stand next to Sherlock or join the force to kill him? Sherlock AU, no pairings, rating for later.
1. Chapter 1

_"Every human mounted together and hunted down the foul beasts, known as dragons, and slayed them all! Freeing ourselves from the foul beasts and taking control of our own futures once and for all." John's father finished, closing the history book with a smile as his youngest son, John, stared down at his scarred and limp leg. A scar well-deserved from the wars that defeated the dragons._

_"Amazing!" John said, childish blue eyes wide with amazement as his father told the story. "But how did you kill them?"_

_His father blinked, stubble features twisting into a warm smile as he said "A bullet to the brain always works John, you have to remember that."_

_John nodded. "A few boys at my school said dragons could take a human skin. Is that possible?"_

_He shook his head and said his next sentence with a sigh before sitting up in the old leather chair, adjusting his leg as a numbing pain shot through his leg. "No clue, but if dragon can, never trust it and put the beast out of its misery before it can kill yeh."_

_The boy stopped as he looked up, taking in every word his elder said. He went over it at least a thousand times in his head, sticking it to memory but something somewhere in his young mind told him it was wrong, but he ignored it._

* * *

_A scream of pain tore through the night, causing a fourteen-year-old Mycroft Holmes to jump out of his bed and cross to the window. He looked through the rain, trying to catch sight of what had made the horrible sound. A flash of lightning illuminated his yard white and then his eyes widened in horror when he saw a seven-year-old boy cross his yard, blood coating his dark blue shirt as rain clung to his mop of dark curls. Mycroft ran out of his room and down the stairs, grabbing the umbrella he always kept by the door._

_He opened it up and ran outside in the pouring rain, ignoring the mud that clung to his pajama pant bottoms and feet. Rain poured down around him but that didn't stop him noticing the small and weak figure lying on the ground, a small and watered down puddle of blood fanning out around him. Mycroft helped the little boy to his feet and walked inside with him, just as his parents walked down the stairs, wiping the tiredness from their eyes only for them to widen in horror at the state of the child their son had brought in._

_"Oh my god." Mrs. Holmes breathed, eyes wide in terror as she ran down the stairs and sat the boy down in the chair. "What happened to you?"_

_The child looked up, Mycroft jumped when he saw the constricted pupils of the child, which quickly rounded out. "Shot by an arrow at the battle of the Burrows. They killed my family, I just hatched for goodness sakes!"_

_Mr. Holmes blinked in horror, he had grown up knowing to kill dragons but now that one, especially a child, was sitting at his kitchen table, he wasn't so sure he could pull the trigger. Mycroft glanced at him but his father only asked "What's your name?"_

_"Smaug." The child answered. "An old name in my blood line."_

_"Okay then, well, how are you human? Normally, dragons are big and scaly with wings." Mrs. Holmes said, soft eyes glancing over the boy._

_He shook his head, bright blue eyes glancing them over as he said "My parents taught me how to take human skin to keep me safe from the carnage but as I escaped I had been shot."_

_Mycroft blinked, eyes filling with horror but then he saw his parents gaze at one another before his mother said "We'll be hanged if we allow him to stay...all of us. It's a war crime."_

_Mr. Holmes shook his head "But it doesn't matter, as long as he stays like that...he'll be fine. Come on Violet, imagine the learning opportunity we have right before our eyes. Raising a dragon, imagine."_

_Mycroft tore into the conversation as he said "Mum, Dad, you have to remember that a dragon in human form could have dire consequences. He could start sprouting horns and whatnot...but, if we do decide on keeping him...I'll treat him like a brother."_

_The dragon looked up, blue eyes widening in surprise as a smile broke out across his face. After awhile and a few nods between the parents Mr. Holmes finally said "Fine, Smaug, you can stay."_


	2. Chapter 2

John looked up at the leader of the Black Lotus, he growled angrily as she held a gun towards Sarah, who was struggling against the ropes, but they held firm. Her whimper of fear was soft against the crackling of the burning rubbish bins around them. He blinked away the blurriness in his head, blood was still dripping down his face from where the gun hit him but he ignored it. A loud metallic crash echoed off of the stone walls from behind them as Sherlock's voice cut through the air.

"How would you describe me John?" He called, a laugh in his voice as he knocked yet another over, sending the tunnel further into darkness. "Heroic? Dynamic? Enigmatic?"

"Late." John hissed through the air with a narrowed gaze. But he glanced up in horror when a gunshot echoed through the air, the bullet hitting Sherlock square in the shoulder, sending him spinning to the floor. He blinked and yelled out "Sherlock!"

Shan smirked, dark eyes narrowing as she blew the smoke away from the revolver's barrel. A whimper of pain was heard as Sherlock tried to find his feet but failed. The Consulting Detective crawled away, face pale with pain as he glanced one last time at John. Sarah blinked in terror but then a deafening roar shook the Earth around them. Shan looked up with wide eyes but John only sat in a transfixed state of horror, he knew that roar, it had always been something they were taught as a kid, it was primary school learning for a child to know about the wars. He blinked, not wanting to believe what he was seeing, for fear it might be the real thing.

A dragon, a dragon was in the tunnel.

John struggled around, eyes widening in all unimagined horror that portrayed itself. A shape was growing in the shadows, just visible beyond the walls, but from the remaining firelight, he caught sight of crimson and gold-colored scales along with wings. Shan screamed as a long and snake-like neck and head slithered its way past the wall and made its way just into the light. A shot was fired but the bullet passed harmlessly against the scales only to fall off in a moment later.

Shan blinked as the head came closer to her, amber eyes watching coldly for her next move. In an instant she screamed yet again but this time she ran. The dragon followed, talons leaving long and twisted scars within the stone floor as it crawled from behind the walls, knocking them down in the process. The roar was deafening beyond comprehension as the dragon lay chase. Shan's and her guard's screams of horror being washed away against the roar.

Sarah was still with fear, eyes wide as her mouth dropped in horror. She twisted her hands once more as the lower half of the dragon crawled away. A blasting heat was coming from the scales, _the melting point of diamond, _John recited in his mind as it's tail lashed back and forth, destroying the bricks around them. The time that the dragon was chasing them, a few minutes, felt like ages before it disappeared out, following Shan and her men. John looked around for a moment, complete silence.

"Sherlock?" John called, eyes widening in horror when the idea of him being crushed or burned severely crossed into his mind. Panic rising when he was met with silence, he called again, this time his voice shriller and coated in a tone of worry. "Sherlock?!"

The sound of footsteps padded their way into the tunnel as John caught sight of a familiar coat and man. Sherlock stepped into the light, blue eyes tired but that wasn't the strangest thing. His hair clung to his forehead, drenched in sweat while his coat singed in the areas closest to his body, the Detective didn't hold his wounded shoulder but instead just was walking towards them as if nothing was wrong. He untied Sarah's ropes first, John glanced as they hit the floor, untied but the edges were burned.

The Detective walked next to John as Sarah stood with wide eyes, staring at the scene around them. A blistering heat was rolling of his friend in waves as Sherlock tore through them. John stood up and turned towards Sherlock who wore a strange somber expression on his face as he stared in horror at the talon marks around them. They were, in the least, a foot deep.

"What's was that?" John said, eyes wide as he stared at the torn roof of the tunnel from the wings and tail. "God, I really hope it wasn't what I think it is."

Sherlock rolled his eyes, turning away before John could study his face even further as he laced his voice with sarcasm "Oh maybe it wasn't a dragon...or maybe it was a trick of light or maybe, just maybe, a lizard. Yes John, it was a dragon. Not all of them are dead...apparently."

The Ex-Army Doctor blinked, eyes widening as he said "Where were you anyway?! You would've been crushed or burned or killed. That thing could have swallowed you whole!"

He shrugged "Eh, things will happen but anyway, we should clear out before the dragon can return."

There were no questions as the three walked away, fairly quickly into the cold night air. John never questioned the small waves of fog rolling off of his friend's skin.

* * *

Ever since that night when John and Sarah were taken by the Black Lotus, Sherlock had been rarely seen around busy streets. He stayed inside most of the time and luckily this time, John was at work while Mycroft paid a little visit. No one ever questioned the scar he had on his throat from when Sherlock accidentally attacked him in self-defense. Mycroft sat at John's chair while Sherlock made tea.

"Is everything alright brother dear?" Mycroft asked, umbrella sitting across his lap. "You seem tense and from what I can tell, you're body temperature is escalated beyond healthy...you've transformed haven't you?"

The Detective stiffened, his hand was wrapped firmly around the kettle, the stove wasn't on but Mycroft already was aware of what he was doing. Sherlock shook his head and said "Yes, I've transformed but it hurts being in this form all the time. A human skin isn't for a dragon. One change couldn't hurt, besides I took out a smuggling ring by eating the leader."

Mycroft shook head with a disapproving sigh, he glanced back as Sherlock held the kettle in his hands, the metal was heating up by his skin temperature. "Remember what Mummy told you, people will kill you if they find out. How many days ago?"

"Nine days and counting." Sherlock said, averting his gaze from his brother's cold glare. "The heat usually doesn't last this long but being I haven't changed for years on end, I'll roll with it."

The Elder Holmes rolled his eyes before saying "You've just taken down the Black Lotus, who to your knowledge, were working for this 'Moriarty'. You could easily take him out but would you really want your secret out there for the whole world? Everyone believes the dragons were killed and if one was found alive...god knows what would happen."

Sherlock smirked as he set down the boiling kettle, he turned on the faucet and ran his hands under the cold water. Steam coated the air as he dried them, Mycroft looked bored as his 'brother' sat down across from him. The younger 'Holmes' looked up with a sigh as he said "I know what would happen. Anyone to everyone would band together to kill me. It was only once and no one thinks dragons can take on human form, that was just some rumor that everyone discredited."

'The British Government' blinked as he said "If the Dragon Enforcement Unit, DEU, caught up to you and read your file...they would have no choice to bring you in. The explosion from Primary school, the fire at Bart's, and the mysterious disappearances from criminals being chased down by you."

"The DEU are just a bunch of fat gits who claim they hunt dragons." Sherlock groaned with a roll of his eyes. "There hasn't been a sighting let alone a hunt of one in over twenty years now."

Mycroft smirked as his eyes flashed, hand grasping the handle of the umbrella tighter. "Well not until now. They have entire armies and weapons based for this type of thing Sherlock. I only want to keep you safe."

"By reminding me like I am a child." Sherlock snapped as he narrowed his eyes.

"So do you ever plan on telling Dr. Watson?" Mycroft asked as leaned back in John's chair with a smirk. "Imagine his reaction when you tell him you're a dragon. My god, he will never look at you the same way."

The Consulting Detective glared coldly before saying "I never plan on telling him. If I did, how would I know he wouldn't shoot me on spot?"

He smirked at his younger brother before saying "Oh yes, we never know that. He could kill you on spot or lock you up. Imagine what your friend Lestrade would say. He'd be the one to lock you up."

"Be quiet Mycroft." Sherlock snapped coldly as he glared. Mycroft shivered when Sherlock's eyes flashed amber. "No one in this city knows except for you and I and that's how I want to keep it."

'The British Government' pointed the sharpened tip of his umbrella at Sherlock who only blinked in response. The tip found its way to Sherlock throat before the Detective could be bothered to do anything worth his time. The brother's glanced at the doorway as John walked in, holding a bag of groceries. The Ex-Army Doctor blinked but didn't say anything.

Mycroft shook his head and stood, taking the tip of the umbrella away from his brother's exposed throat. "Good day Sherlock, I hope to see sometime in the near future."

The Detective narrowed his eyes coldly before saying "As do I."


End file.
